Epic Games CEO Advocates for Artists' Consent in Commercial AI Art Usage

In a recent interview, Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, emphasized the importance of balancing the protection of artwork with the engagement of creators in the context of emerging technologies like image generators. This statement comes after Epic-owned ArtStation introduced a 'noAI' tag, which prevents AI systems from utilizing creative works on the platform. Sweeney expressed his desire for the company to be a trusted and neutral intermediary, supporting game developers while avoiding interference in industry progress. He also stressed that AI systems should not use artists' work for commercial purposes without their explicit consent, highlighting the issue of AI models scraping the web for artwork without permission. Sweeney noted that while this practice might be acceptable for research, it is not suitable for commercial products that generate artwork for profit.